Towards the Sky
by Ryoken
Summary: A new plague has come to Nosgoth. But is it really a plague, or just a visitor?
1. Arrival of the Dragon

Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
All was peaceful in the citadel where the humans dwelt. Until one day, that peace was broken by a fairly large disturbance, one even greater than the vampires of Nosgoth. The graceful beast glided over the walls and almost instantly, the houses were engulfed in flames. People ran in terror towards the safety of shelter as the monster landed on the tallest tower and raised its head in a triumphant roar, and then flew off out of sight.   
"What devil have our gods brought upon us now?!" Yelled the priest as he flung open the doors of his cathedral. "First it's vampires, now we must be infested with DRAGONS?!?! Commander Weisfield, report!!"   
"Sir!" The leader of the hunters saluted. "This dragon seems to have only come alone, my lordship. Everyone has been evacuated into the inner sanctum and there haven't been any casualties."  
"Excellent." The minister sighed as he promptly slouched in his chair at the head of the table. "I'm getting too old for this kind of thing..." he murmured.  
"Sir? If you like, we can send out troops to find the dragons whereabouts."  
"No. The last thing we need is to lose more soldiers. Instead, find out what you can about slaying dragons from the books in our library. Hopefully the vampires haven't stolen any books containing information we could use." Weisfield saluted again, and left the pastor to think about this new catastrophe. "What would a dragon be doing in Nosgoth...?" He thought. Little did he know that the pair of eyes that had been watching him slipped quietly out of the room.  
  
"I must see our Lord Kain. Immediately!" The vampire told the guards.   
"What business do you have with the master?" They asked.  
"There's something that he ought to know."  
"Tell us and we'll tell him."  
"Hrmph, if I told you, you wouldn't tell him the correct information!!" He scoffed. The two guard growled, and proceeded to open the gates to the Sanctuary of the Clans. Another guard followed the vampire until they reached the doors leading to the meeting hall. The vampire hesitated: he remembered that Lord Kain and his lieutenants were meeting there, and wasn't sure whether they had finished or not. But the guard nodded to him and he proceeded to open the large doors. He looked around inside to find the lieutenants talking amongst themselves, but Kain was no where in sight. "Pardon the interruption, my lords, but I need to speak with the master." The lieutenants pointed upwards and the vampire looked up. Kain was sitting upon one of the Pillars, obviously in deep mediation. Bad timing, he thought. One of the lieutenants walked over to the spy.  
"What is it that you must report and we will tell the master," Turel grinned.  
"Of course." He agreed. "I came to tell thee that a dragon has come to Nosgoth!" The lieutenant looked awkward for a moment and then laughed.   
"I think you've been drinking a bit too much!" He chuckled.  
"I have drunk none, I was listening in on the priest of the citadel and I saw it with mine own eyes!!" The vampire argued.   
"He is correct, Turel." Came a voice. It was Kain. "What else did you learn?"  
"That they are trying to find a way to slay it." Kain smiled.  
"Excellent. Give me your name, young fledgling."  
"I am Dromiador," he told him with a bow.  
"Go back to the citadel and see what else you can find. But please be careful. The humans are sure to be extra careful, what with a dragon now to terrorize them." Dromiador nodded and exited the throne room.   
"How did you know that there was a dragon in Nosgoth, father?" Raziel asked as the other five lieutenants came up to him.  
"Simple. I could hear him, couldn't you?" He laughed. The eldest tried not to make eye contact with his maker. "Unless this dragon decides to threaten us or our way of living, I suggest that you all stay away from it, you will make sure to tell your kin of that." He ordered as he paced. "Otherwise, pretend that nothing ever happened. Understood?" They nodded. "Good. Dismissed." And Kain vanished.  
"Well, this should make matters interesting, should they not, brothers?" Dumah grinned madly, rubbing his hands together. "Perhaps this dragon will be strong enough to be a challenge for me!"  
"You heard Kain, Dumah. We aren't supposed to go near that dragon. Besides, if you got too close, it would probably burn you to crisp!" Rahab pointed out.  
"Bah, you worry too much!! I could take him on with one claw tied behind my back!!" He boasted.  
Zephon smiled. "Have you forgotten the last time you tried that, brother? I do believe that you couldn't sit down for about two weeks, am I correct?" Dumah punched his younger sibling in the face without even looking as the others laughed.   
"One more 'ha' out of any of you and I'll punch your face in!!" Silence. "That's better." They knew he meant it.  
"Come on, we had better get back to our clans tell them what's going on," Rahab said, trying to change the subject.  
"True," Raziel agreed. "I suggest we meet else where afterwards and talk about this." They agreed. This matter wasn't your everyday problem. The six powerful vampires separated and left to their territories to spread word of the dragon.  
  
"Father Jothn!!" Weisfield burst in. He carried with him a rather large book.   
"Have you found something?" He asked. The commander nodded.  
"We've found a section in 'Mysteries of the Unknown' that mentions dragons!" He said as he plopped the book on the table and opened it to the bookmark. "It says that dragons are rarely seen anywhere anymore. Many of them were slain by wizards and warriors and the like many years ago. The few that still live hardly ever make their presence known. Their breath cannot be quenched by water, nor are they harmed by it. It says that they even dive into the seas to catch fish at times."  
"Anything on slaying?"  
"Well, it says that demons have been known to take possession of them. Perhaps this is why this dragon has made itself known?"  
"That's the last thing that we need. Keep searching."  
"Yes sir!!" And he jogged out of the room.  
"Dragons and demons and vampires. With all of this going on, you would think that Nosgoth was about to meet its end." The preacher thought and he return to the alter to pray that the dragon would bring no more harm. 


	2. Decisions, Decisions

No worries, readers! I didn't give a description on purpose. It's all part of my master plan...yup, yessireebob...Huh, oh yeah!! Gotta get writing now!!   
  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
Raziel had finished speaking to his clan about the dragon when he saw it. He was making his way to Dumah's wasteland of a territory, where they had agreed to meet. Had the sun been setting, the shadow of the dragon wouldn't have been seen. It was flying gracefully high in sky, seeming to not have a care in world. He forgot where he standing until someone tackled him from behind.  
"Raziel, are you mad?!" Rahab yelled at him, whispering at the same time.  
"No, of course not!!"  
"Then why were you just standing out in the open?! One of the vampire hunters could have gotten you!!" Raziel blinked a few times, staring at Rahab with this realization.  
"You're...right, Rahab. But I couldn't help looking at the dragon in the sky!"  
"The dragon!!" Rahab forgot to keep his voice down low. "Where?!? Where?!"  
"It was flying very high, I only saw it by chance of seeing its shadow. I doubt that it would be there anymore." The two brothers looked up. As he had said, the dragon was gone.  
"Come, brother. We'd best move on," Rahab suggested as they continued their journey.  
  
Walking along the small graveyard in the back of the church, Father Jothn could see the smoke still coming from the houses, even though the fires had been put out after hours of hard work. He still wondered why a dragon would come to such a dying place as Nosgoth, even if a demon was possessing it. Commander Weisfield argued for half an hour with him only earlier, to take a small group of men to find the lair of the beast and return with the information so that they could prepare to slay it. Unfortunately, he had lost, and he took five men with him to find the dragon's hideaway. Again, he worried. He had heard tales that dragons could hear a horse coming a half a mile away. All he could do was pray that rumor wasn't true.   
Speaking of rumors, Father Jothn had heard many rumors from the people in hiding. They said that the dragon was the final event that would wipe out Nosgoth. Others said that perhaps it was here to save it. But those that did were scoffed at. He sighed, and had he any hair left, he would have pushed it back in frustration.   
  
The six brothers were speechless. No one had the slightest clue as to what to say on the matter of dragons. Once or twice, Rahab tried to say something, but then thought against it. Raziel was still thinking about what he saw. Dumah seemed to be in a bit of a grumpy mood after Zephon's comment from earlier. And the other three only thought. Finally, Rahab broke the silence.   
"Raziel, do you think you could describe it?" Raziel broke from his daydream and all eyes were on him.  
"I doubt it, brother. It was too far away to see very much." Rahab nodded.  
"What about you, Rahab? Haven't you read anything in your books about dragons?" Raziel asked. He was startled.  
"Well, I am not particularly interested in subject of fairy tale monsters, but I suppose when I return to my clan, I could see what I can scrounge up."  
"Good. Maybe we can find something of interest," Dumah said. Then, for once, Dumah got an idea. "I know! One of us could go into the citadel and perhaps we could find out something there! I'm sure the humans will have started circulating information that the hunters have found."  
"For once, you've used your brain, Dumah! I'm proud of you!" Zephon said as he slapped him on the back. Dumah gave Zephon a menacing glance and he backed off.  
"Maybe Dumah is right. But it might be wise for more than one of us to go. We could find information faster by covering more ground." Raziel said. "Who will volunteer?" Everyone raised their hands, except for Rahab, who wished to stay in library to read about the dragon than go out to see what he could find. They hadn't had a bit of fun in ages. "I see. I guess we'll all go then."   
As they began to discuss where they would go, they felt a small rumble of the earth shaking beneath them. The lieutenants raced outside to see that the dragon had landed right on top of a building nearest them. The sun was setting by then and the bright light shone behind the dragon, making it difficult to see how it looked. The dragon must have flapped its wings for the vampires fell back into the room where they had been. When they untangled themselves and got outside, the dragon was gone.  
"Where was all that talk about being able to take on the dragon then, eh Dumah?" Zephon murmured. Dumah heard him and started to chase after him until he heard his brothers discussing again where they would go.   
  
Several hours passed with no word from the Commander or the men he had taken. It was already nightfall and a full day had passed since the first sighting. Father Jothn knew that they were most likely dead by now, either by the dragon or the vampires. Father Jothn went to the library of the cathedral where the hunters and scholars were looking through every book that could possibly hold some scrap of information that they could devour. Suddenly, another hunter came through the door, carrying the impaled body of a vampire.  
"Father, I caught this vampire sneaking into the cathedral!! I suppose the vampires are getting suspicious now. Shall I burn him?" He asked.  
"Hmm...Yes, that would be appropriate," he said as he turned back to the book he was leafing through." The hunter left the room with body of Dromiador dragging along the ground. I wonder if the vampires found something...he thought.  
  
"All right, does everyone remember where they are to go?" Raziel said. They nodded. "Good. Any questions before we head out?" None. "Let us go then!" Raziel said as he pulled the hood over his head and wrapped the cloak around him to hide his claws. Hitting the sides of his horse to make it go, they all started their short journey to the human citadel. Clouds began to form in the sky and rain started to drizzle.   
Two pure sliver eyes watched the five riders go, concentrating on the rain spell at the same time. The eyes flew with its body into the night's sky.  
  
Ok people, next chapter: Raziel and his brothers go to the citadel!! It's going to be a jam-packed chapter, whoohoo!!! 


	3. Surprise of the Highest Degree

Ok, this is gonna be the really cool chapter, even if it isn't really action-packed.  
  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
Getting past the guards at the gate was the easy part. Making sure that no one knew they were vampires, let alone the lieutenants of Kain, was the hard part. They had had their slave tailors create clothing underneath their cloaks to hide their claws on both their feet and hands. If they were to do this right, they were going to do it correctly the first time, and not take any chances. They were to go out into decided sections of the citadel and listen in on conversations. Even rumors would be helpful. Then, when their job was done, they would all meet up at the local tavern and discuss what they had found, and then return back to the clans. When they had reached the center of the citadel, leaving their horses at the gate, they went their separate ways. They scurried from place to place, carefully listening to the conversations going on for any words that would arouse interest and at the same time made sure no one saw them and thought them suspicious.  
  
"Send for my sons, I have something important to tell them," he said. Kain had sat on his throne for what seemed days, he finally spoke to a messenger.  
"I humbly apologize, my lord, but they are not there," said the Rahabim.  
"What do you mean, they aren't there?" He had a pinch of anger in his voice and the vampire, though still a fledgling, could sense it.  
"They have gone, my lord. To the citadel."  
"Do you know the reason?"  
"I believe to gather information about the dragon, sire." Then Kain picked up the Soul Reaver, cut off the messenger's head with a single blow, and set it back in it's sheath.  
"That's the fifth fledgling this week. I really must release my anger on Ariel, at least that way I won't waste killing another valuable vampire," said Kain as he marched out the door to search for his disobedient lieutenants.  
  
After about an hour, Raziel was the first to finish, having not very much luck and the only rumor about the dragon that he found was that it had killed a group of hunters. He made his way through the crowd of people to the tavern, sat down at a table that was out of the way and ordered some ale.   
As he waited for the bartender to return, he noticed something that he had not seen when he had entered the pub. Sitting at a table not far from his was someone in another cloak, but it was a pure, untouched white color. He wondered how he could have missed this person. Deciding that he could use some blood after all that snooping, he decided to make this person mysteriously vanish.  
He got up and slightly bowed to her, now seeing that this person was a she, and asked "May I have the pleasure of sitting here?" The maiden gave a slight nod to Raziel without even looking at him and he sat in a chair right next to her. He tried to see her face, but it was mostly covered by her white hood and it seemed to him that her eyes were closed. She kept her hands in her lap and her silence. "May I ask your name, fair lady?" he smiled at her. Finally, after a few moments, she looked up at him and opened her eyes. Raziel's mouth gaped open for a moment in astonishment. Her irises were hardly visible, as they were a grayish silver.   
The woman whispered to him, so softly that even if anyone else was near, they wouldn't hear her. "I have no name, vampire."  
  
Still no word from the group. Father Jothn sighed and knew that surely, they were dead by now. There was a knock on the door of his office.  
"Come in." A small boy came in shyly. "Oh, it is you, Bartholomew." The little boy bowed to the priest and then came up to him.  
"Is my dad ok, Father Jothn?" He turned his face away from the son of the commander.  
"I wouldn't know, my son. He hasn't returned yet."  
"Do...do you think that he's...my dad's dead?"  
"It is most likely, my son." The boy looked down, trying to hide his tears. "Don't cry. Although slim, you never know what miracle may have bestowed on your father. He may return to us yet." Then the boy smiled, thanked the priest, and left. "I'm going to have to get a new commander soon, I believe." He sat down in a chair and slept on the thought.  
  
She seemed to have no emotion at all. She gave no smile or frown.  
"How...? H-How did you know that?!" Raziel stuttered, almost forgetting to keep his voice low.  
"I know many things, vampire," she said, looking away into the crowd. Raziel was stunned into silence. His mind was busy racing with questions, but he wasn't sure he should ask her. He asked anyway.  
"Do you know anything about the dragon?" The maiden looked back into Raziel's eyes.   
"I may." She looked away again. "It appears your company hast arrived." Raziel looked up to see Turel eyeing him and trying to send him a signal.   
"Could you...excuse me for a moment?" He asked, already getting out of his seat. She nodded and the lieutenant hurried over to his fellow vampire.  
"Well, c'mon!! Don't just stand there all day, show us where you're sitting!!" He joked. He nodded and they followed him back to the table near the woman. When Raziel looked back at her, she appeared to be looking at the table, even though her silver eyes were shut. "Hey, Raziel?!" He turned to face the two brothers that had arrived already. "Are you listening to me? You're just staring at that girl."   
"Huh? Oh, forgive me, Turel. It is just that...she somehow knows that we are vampires..." he said, turning to face her once more.  
"What? How? Did you ask her?" Dumah asked.  
"No..."  
"Then go and ask!! Maybe she knows something about the dragon!! Go on!!" The two urged. Raziel gave a silent sigh and headed back towards the maiden. Again, he bowed only slightly, and sat down in his same seat, only this time to be thrown out of his chair by a hand on his shoulder, which belonged to a rather large man.  
"Hey, this is MY seat, buddy!" The rude man sat down while Raziel got up, ready to punch him back, but something made him stop and step back. The man put a filthy arm around the woman's shoulder. "Hey there, beautiful. How's about we go in the back and...talk?" The man started to touch the maiden's leg but she opened her eyes quickly and with deadly quickness, stood up, drew out a scythe from behind her back, seemingly from out of the air, and placed the blade next to his neck.  
She leaned down to his ear while moving the scythe lower and lower (you can imagine what I'm getting at.) and said "I suggest that you leave my presence before something useful is gone." The fat man stumbled out of his chair as the barkeep came over to the table to stop any fighting. Over half of the people in the room had been watching the scene and when the man stumbled out of the bar, all of them turned back to their alcohol , trying to avoid the fact that they had been watching. Dumah, Turel, and Melchiah, who had just arrived, instead, started to cheer her on and then grinned as the man was trying to get out of the bar, although they had been disappointed that she hadn't killed him. The woman placed the scythe behind her, where it seemed to disappear, and sat down in her seat, motioning Raziel to sit down with her.  
"I must say, you are quite a skilled fighter," he complimented.   
"Thank you." Raziel could have sworn he saw her blush a little. "You wished to ask me something?"  
"I will not ask how you knew that, but yes, I do. You said that you might know something about the dragon. Would you be willing to tell me?" She met his eyes.  
"Perhaps, when the time is right."   
He smiled. "Oh? And when will that be?"  
"You will know soon enough, I imagine."  
"I see."  
"Your brothers seem to grow impatient with you, vampire." Finally, she gave a small smile. "Perhaps you should go to them." Raziel gave a small laugh.  
"They want to know if you know anything about the dragon. It seems that you do, and I don't believe that they would be as talkative as I to get that information out of you."  
She smiled again. "Let the stalkers of the night try their worst, it will do them no good." Raziel seemed enthralled and amused with this woman's little game. He hardly noticed the last brother who had come with them, Zephon, enter the bar and sit down with his brothers. "The last of the vampires have come, yet there is one missing," she said.  
"How did you know that I have another brother?" He asked. Now he was getting suspicious.   
"As I said before, I know many things." Suddenly, Dumah got up and came over.  
"Greetings, my lady." That was all that he could say when she looked in his eyes. He shook his head back and forth, retrieving the task at hand in his mind. "Raziel, I must speak with you. Pardon us." She nodded, and her gaze went back to the table. "Well??"  
Raziel sighed a great sigh and said "She says that she will tell me when the time is right."   
"Ohhhhhhh, that sounds a bit seductive!" Zephon said, elbowing his older brother with a wink. Had they been back in their territories, Raziel would have given Zephon a fairly hard punch, but decided against it and merely gave him an evil smile. Suddenly, Raziel got the feeling that he was being watched and turned to see the maiden was gone.  
"Where did she go?!" Raziel said, getting out of his chair and looking in all directions.  
"I'm sure she couldn't have gone far, but I'm surprised that I didn't see her go," Melchiah reassured.   
"Hold it, Raziel," Dumah cautioned, taking hold of Raziel's wrist as he was about to go towards the door outside. "I think you might want to go looking in THAT direction." Dumah took hold of his older brother's chin and turned it towards a hallway where Raziel just barely caught a glimpse of a white cape. He could hear his brothers' stifled laughter as he made his way through the crowd to follow her. He made it to the other side of the room and saw the end of white cloth go around the corner. Following the woman, he could hear groans and laughs from the perverted prostitutes in the rooms, making love to the men in their beds. He did his best to keep his mind off the idea that he might be one of those men in just a matter minutes or seconds and kept going.   
Finally, he saw the woman enter a room and stopped in his tracks. He was about to think about this when he heard her voice speak out to him in the hall. It was the first time he heard it when it wasn't a whisper.   
"Do not be afraid. Come in," said she. As if by some unseen force, he walked a bit unwillingly into the room. She was sitting on the small bed in the room and she looked up at him when he entered. She had taken her hood down and he could clearly see that she was beautiful. But to his astonishment, she had, like her eyes, silvery hair, not the kind like that of an old woman, but fair and gentle. It gave her the look of a goddess. "Sit, if you so wish." He cautiously approached her and the door seemed to shut itself. He sat down next to her, and looked very confused. "The time is now, vampire." Raziel panicked. He wasn't sure whether she meant it was time to tell him, or something else.  
"Uh, are you sure this is the right time? Because my brothers might get worried about me and-" The maiden put a finger to his lips. Then, to his surprise, she stood up, took a step or two, and faced the vampire lord. "It is time to tell you of the dragon," she said. "And to tell you about myself. I, am," and into his mind came a voice. The dragon.  
  
Good, eh? I knew you'd like it. Betcha can't WAIT for more!! 


	4. Searches, Spells, and Murders

At first, you may think that I skipped a chapter, but in reality, I haven't, so bear with me.  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
Kain stopped in his tracks. He felt that there was one of his sons who had remained. Most likely, it's Melchiah, he thought. He proceed to head towards that piece of the clans when the feeling came back, pulling him towards the opposite direction. Ever since he had been a fledgling, he had learned to trust his instincts and followed his senses to Rahab's door. He opened it and there he sat, reading a book called Monsters of Mythology.   
"What are you doing?" He asked, slightly ticked. The vampire jumped out of his seat in fright, stood up, and bowed to his master.  
"Reading, Father," he answered.  
"About the dragon??"  
"Yes..."  
"I see. And your brothers?"  
"They went to the citadel-"  
"To discover things about this dragon, correct?" Rahab was surprised, but only a little.  
"Yes, my lord."  
"If I have not told you once, then I have told you and your brothers a thousand times!! Never go to the citadel unless on a raid!!!" He yelled. The vampire cowered slightly at his master's anger. Kain was about to say something more, but suddenly, Dumah slammed the door open and was about to say something when he saw Kain.  
"Uh, hello, Father." His father's expression told him that he and his brothers had a LOT of explaining to do.  
  
"Well????????" Kain said, taking a seat on his throne. His sons had gathered around the throne to tell him the story of what had happened. They all, except for Rahab, who hadn't been there, and Raziel, who was not present, spoke at the same time. "HOLD IT!!!!!" Kain yelled above their voices. "One. At. A. Time." Melchiah spoke first.  
"TherewasthismaidenatthebarandRazieltriedtogetinformationfromherandthenshedisappearedaroundacornerandwhenwewenttolookforthem, they were gone!! Welookedineveryroombutwecouldntfindthem!!" He said, his arms flying up in exasperation. Kain looked at him oddly. He had never heard Melchiah talk so much or so fast before. Neither had his brothers.   
"Hang on, Melchiah. Would someone like to take a slower approach to this story?" He asked. Dumah stepped forward. "From the beginning." He took a deep breath.  
"Well, it all started after we had gotten news of the dragon from the spy. We decided to go to the citadel and try to find something else about it. We were very careful about how we went about it, Father. Come nightfall, we rode out to the citadel, having no trouble at all. When we returned from our eavesdropping, we made our way to the main tavern of the citadel and found Raziel speaking with a woman in a white cloak. Turel and I motioned for him to come with us and sit us down. He did, and told us that she knew that we were vampires. He went back over to her, spoke some more and then I approached her, saying that I needed to speak to him. I saw her eyes and they were pure silver, Father. When we turned around to see her again, she was gone, but I saw her round a corner in a hallway at the other side of the room. Raziel followed her, and we joked about what she was going to do. We waited for an hour and he had still not come out. So we decided to look for him. We looked in every room, and there was no sign of him. We thought that perhaps he had gone and come back here to speak with Rahab, but as you can see, he wasn't there." Kain listened to his son's every word. A maiden with silver eyes? Was it possible for a dragon to change it's shape into that of a human? He had seen many bizarre things in his long lifetime, but never something like this. Finally, he spoke.  
"Then we search for him. Melchiah will stay here in case he shows up. The rest of us will find this maiden, and hopefully, she will lead us to Raziel. Take a few of your best vampire trackers, we'll need them to get his scent. I will take a few Razielim, and search his territory for him." Then, as he was leaving, the lieutenants following behind him, he said "Be lucky that he did disappear, my sons. I would have had you thrown into the abyss for your disobedience." And he transported himself to the Razielim clan.  
  
Raziel awoke with hay in his face. Raising his body out of the haystack, he looked around him. He seemed to be near a farm, but one that was far from Nosgoth. He looked up to see the dragon hovering to the ground with a sleeping human in her front right claw. She landed and placed the human on the ground in front of him. Had the landscape been snowy, he would never have seen her. The color was that of fresh snow that had never been touched. Her wings were sleek and graceful, and she had a mane of long spiky hair. Along her back were sharp spines which went all the way down to her tail, which ended with no spikes at all. On the front of her were white armored plates that acted as the strongest of armor. Her ears camouflaged with the mane, but were longer. And her eyes were that of a pure, unchanged silver. A beautiful beast indeed. I presume that thou drinkest blood, do you not? She spoke in his mind with her old languaged tongue.   
"Yes, I do," Raziel said as he jumped down from the haystack and began to drink the human's blood from his neck, just as he started to wake up. He began to remember the event from earlier. The fair-haired maiden who was this dragon, and what they had both had said...  
"You're the dragon!?" He had almost screamed. She had hushed him quickly, not wanting anyone to hear.  
"Yes, I am the dragon. I comest here to discover whomever it is that was killing my fellow dragons."  
"You mean there is someone murdering dragons????"  
"Yes, vampire. I don't know what could be strong enough to slay a creature of magic, but I plan to find out."  
"How do you know they were murdered?"  
"One day they vanished, and another day , we would find their corpse, their horns sawn off, had they horns, and bits and pieces of wings torn or slashed, obviously done to take pieces of them, and their blood drained. Claws were sometimes removed, or spines. As there were few of us to begin with, there are even more few of us now."  
"And how do you know that that...thing...came to Nosgoth?" She had seemed to be getting restless, as she was now pacing the room.  
"I could smell it. I couldn't before...it came after me," she had stopped where she was. "I could sense I was being watched, as I am one of the eldest of the dragons of my clan, and I knew what I had to do. So I took to the air, but I still felt that I was followed until I reached my homeland. From there, I could always sense when that murderous dog was near, but so far, I have not sensed him." Raziel had asked question after question, not really realizing that she was getting annoyed.   
"Why did you attack the citadel?"  
"I could have sworn that I sensed him in one of those homes, so I burned them. I might have got him, but I cannot be certain. Are you finished with your foolish questions now?" He had blushed, forgetting to control himself. He nodded. "Good." Then she had taken his hand, and with strength more powerful than his own, got him to stand up and she took him outside. He had argued to tell his brothers what she had told him, and argued about where they were headed. He was surprised when his brothers didn't see him, no matter how loud he had yelled at them. She had taken him outside of the citadel and into a nearby forest where she must have cast some sort of spell on him, for he had blacked out the minute they were out of sight.  
  
Nothing. Not a trace, not even a hair of Raziel could be found in his own territory. Kain sighed and ordered the few Razielim that they would head out to the Sanctuary of the Clans to meet with the others immediately. Beginning to march, Kain wondered about this dragon. What would it want with Raziel? Surely she didn't plan to eat him, he was dead. Sort of. Ransom? He didn't think that to be a very likely story. He pushed the thoughts from his mind as the other clans came into view.   
"Zephon, you will go to every wood and search every tree and cave that is to be found in them. Rahab, search every brook and river bank that you find. Dumah, go to the mountains. Dig in the snow if you must. Turel, go to the citadel and keep looking there. Razielim, you will come with me to the far corners of Nosgoth. I trust that you will all keep a watchful eye out for the dragon. One little breath would kill you all." And they headed off in their directions. Melchiah remained in the Sanctuary of the Clans, with not very much to do, except wait and hope for the best.  
  
"We've found them!!! We've found them, Father Jothn!!" Cried the newly elected Commander of the hunters. Father Jothn rose out of his chair.   
"You're joking!? Are they alive??" He asked. He didn't want to raise his hopes high, but he did anyway.  
"Well, we're not sure. They are breathing, but they appear to be in a coma state."  
"A coma state? Asleep you mean?" Curious.  
"Yes sir! Strangely, there appear to not be any wounds to them."  
"Bring me to the infirmary," he ordered. They went down twisting halls and doors and reached the hospital wing. All of the hunters were lying on cots, their families at their sides. Father Jothn placed the purple covered Bible that he carried around with him most of the time, down on the stand near the Commander's cot and knelt down. All of their armor had been removed. They appeared to be in a deep slumber. The priest did everything he could think of to try and make sense of this. Then it came to him "Witchcraft. Commander, we have a witch in our woods."  
  
OOOoooooooo, a witch? Or the dragon's spells? Pretty kick-ass dragon, eh? And what's this about dragon murders??? What in heck could be powerful enough to slay a dragon in Nosgoth, and then take pieces of it??? Oooooo, mysterious. 


	5. The Search Continues With A Question

Okie dokie, chapter five, woo.   
  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
"A witch, sir?" He said, confused. The priest nodded.  
"Yes. Only this sorcery could be the work of a witch. Get your men ready, Frougot. We will find this wench and make sure she awakens them," Father Jothn said as he marched out the door.  
"Yes sir...," Commander Frougot sulked as he followed the priest out the door. A witch?! This wasn't in the job description! He thought. Already, troops were suiting up to ride into the forest, their pages preparing the horses. Oh well, I suppose. Maybe I'll get extra pay for it. Frougot thought hopefully as he mounted his trusty steed, Bruno. Seeing that all were ready, the priest, on his horse, strode up to the commander. "Onward!!" He yelled at them, rearing his horse and then galloping off in the direction of the forest, his small army not far behind.  
  
Still no luck. Zephon's trackers couldn't pick up the scent of Raziel anywhere in these forests. Where in the world could that wench have taken our brother? He glanced up into the trees. And why? Suddenly, he began to get the feeling of being watched and turned to his group of five. Strangely, there were only four. "Where is Troemio?" He said. The vampires stood up and looked around a bit, but didn't see him anywhere.   
"We didn't see him go anywhere, my lord. Where could he have gone?" They said amongst themselves. Zephon pressed his foot against the nearest tree, knocking it over and taking several branches from other trees with it.   
"Damn it!! Well, we have no time to start a search for him now. Move on!!" And they continued their search.  
  
Kain wasn't having very much luck either. Even though they were not really near the border lines of Nosgoth yet, they weren't exactly making fast progress. "Come on, we aren't even close to the border, keep moving!!" He yelled at the Razielim. They were exhausted. "Do you want to find your lord or not??" That gave them a small bit of new spirit, and they pressed on. By the end of the day, they reached the border line. There were only small farms that were scattered around this very large valley, but they would search every one of them. Splitting up, Kain went off in northern direction, while sending the others off in the other directions. He could sense great powers here, another feeling that he had picked up from his days as a fledgling.   
  
It is a rarity that a dragon will ask the help of another being, let alone a vampire, so I will ask thee once again, came the dragon's voice. Raziel had told her no to her proposal for him to help her. Pretend that I am thy consort, this way I can try to feel out this murderer.   
"I will have none of this!! None of the vampires would have the strength the kill a dragon!! Kain might, but he doesn't have a reason for it!! And I know that he wouldn't do such a thing without reason!!" he argued.  
I do not accuse any vampire of killing my fellow dragons, I am only saying that perhaps I could sense him, giving the opportunity to go into the woods, unsuspected by others. Still, Raziel refused. Very well, vampire. The dragon raised her head high. If this is thy wish, I shall leave thee and ask no more of you. Then the dragon pushed off the ground, and quickly rose into the air. That was when Raziel realized he had no idea where he was and that the dragon did.   
"WAIITTT!!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. But the dragon couldn't hear him and she flew off towards Nosgoth.   
  
"What the-?!" Kain said, ducking out of pure instinct when he saw it. The dragon flew overhead and towards the forest that they had come out of. He could still feel something out there, but now that the dragon was gone, it wasn't as strong. But it followed it anyway, and it led him to a haystack where he found Raziel leaning against a haystack.  
"Am I dreaming?" He asked his father, who placed a claw on Raziel's shoulder.  
"Unless we are all asleep, you are not," Kain responded with a laugh.  
"Then I must be the luckiest vampire who ever lived," he said, standing up to happily greet his father.   
"Come. I believe it is time to head home," he said. He found the Razielim one by one, and they marched back into the woods.   
  
"Well it's about bloody time!!" Rahab said, scolding the oldest brother. The other clans had come back before Kain had, and they ran up to their brother, all asking questions and shouting comments at him. All the while, Kain slipped from the little crowd and was about to go back to his throne when he heard a thump. He looked up and came face to face with the dragon.  
Those silver eyes pierced Kain to the soul. It was only a minute or so before the clan leaders noticed the dragon having a stare down with Kain. You are Kain? She spoke in his head. He jumped a little and then answered.  
"I am he. What do you want?" He asked as his sons came over very cautiously, except for Raziel. The dragon sniffed Kain once or twice.  
You, murderer!! She yelled in all of their minds, quickly trapped him with her front paw and was about to snap his head with her jaws when she accidentally took another scent of him. Then she raised her paw off from him and tried to sniff the air. Madly, she looked around for something while the lieutenant helped their father off of the ground.  
"What's the meaning of this?! I demand an answer from you, dragon!!" Kain yelled, but it didn't do any good. She merely ignored him and kept looking in all directions in the sky. That was when it showed itself. The real dragon murderer plunged itself onto the white dragon's spiny back, trying to tear at the wings. She tried to swerve her head around to bite him, but he dodged all her attacks. Then it dug what looked like claws into her back. As a deep red blood began to seep from her new wound, her scream was almost unbearable to the vampire's ears. Finally, Kain decided to do something about it. He lunged at the creature, whatever it was, and with the Soul Reaver, tried to impale him. The creature unhook one claw from the dragon and slashed Kain through the stomach. It burned like water does to vampire's skin. Still, he kept his balance while the dragon reared and roared, trying to defend herself. That was when the lieutenants joined in. They leapt up to the dragon's back, and now the odds were seven to one. Not able to fight and dig its claws into the dragon's back at the same time, it jumped down the other side, ripping a long wound down the dragon's side as it went. Then it ran off into the rocky mountains.   
The vampires kept their distance from the acid-like blood of the dragon, and jumped down on the opposite side of the wound. She had carefully laid down, neck, fully extended, gentle, yet burning, silver eyes half closed, expressing her pain with small roaring whines. My...wounds, will heal in time, but not if the blood doesn't...stop flowing...Ahh! She said, speaking out to the vampires' minds.   
"What can we do? We don't know how to help you, for our wounds close the moments they are dealt!" Rahab said.  
Find me...a wizard then...from the citadel...or from amongst thy armies...They will know...what to do... Her eyes shut a little more.   
"Kain? What do you think?" Raziel asked. All of the vampires looked at him for his answer.  
  
Oooooo, what will he do? I'll bet you're all going to kill him if he leaves her to die, huh?? Hehe, you'll just have to find out!! 


	6. Wounds to be Healed

What's he gonna choose, what's he gonna choose??  
  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
"Well?" Rahab said, waiting for Kain to answer. They were all eagerly anticipating his answer. Would he help the dragon or leave her to die?? Whatever that creature was, it wanted the dragon dead. If he helped the dragon, the creature would no doubt come after her again and try to kill her. The beast would surely come back to claim the body of whatever it wanted if Kain refused to help it. Either way, the beast was sure to come back.  
"This is none of our business, my sons. We don't even know what this creature is, and dragons are very untrustworthy. For all we know, that creature could be doing us a favor," the dragon, though wounded and in pain, turned to look at Kain. "Leave the beast to die. Whatever that creature wants from the dragon, he can have it. I am going to get the Reaver and put it out of its misery. And please, don't try to hide it," he cackled and scurried off to his throne to fetch the infamous sword.   
"Even I am not that cruel!!" Dumah said in anger. They looked back at the dragon, who was trying to get up and fly away from this place. She tried again and hopelessly again to push herself from the ground and get into the air, where it was safer. Then instead, she tried to get away on foot. "I say we help the dragon. Who knows, maybe she'll return the favor?" he said. Some of them glared at him for disobeying Kain, but Melchiah spoke up.  
"I agree with Dumah. Hey, Raziel, where are you going?!" He said, spotting the oldest running towards the dragon. "Well, I guess that gives us his answer. What about the rest of you?" Rahab nodded.  
"You can count me in," he said.  
"And I as well. I know a few small healing tricks," Turel agreed.  
"You're all fools!! You heard what Kain said, and I for one am not going to disobey him!! I shant move an inch to help that thing!!" He yelled, crossing his arms and looking away from them with his nose in the air.  
"Suit yourself, little brother. But you'd better remember those words when we send the dragon on you!!" Turel said, teasing him. But Zephon thought otherwise.  
"You wouldn't dare!!"  
"Oh, really? Then why did you fend off the attacker with us?"   
"Because!! Kain was doing it as well!!"  
"Bah, stupid reason. Fine, stand there and rot for all I care. Hey, wait up for me!!" Turel cried after his brothers who had already begun to run towards the dragon. Then after a few words of "Damn bastards" and "They're just going to get killed", Zephon ran after them.  
Raziel was the first to realize it. "We have to distract Kain, or else we won't be able to get out of here in time." Dumah took hold of Zephon's hand with his own.  
"We'll be glad to assist!! It's too bad you'll miss out, Turel!" He said, and then dragged a grumbling and yelling Zephon back towards the Sanctuary.   
"Good. Melchiah, go and get a few horses, will you? Now, can you transform yourself?" The remaining brothers looked puzzled.  
I might.   
"Try." With effort, the dragon shrank as it was engulfed in light and when it died, there was the woman from the tavern.  
"I never would have guessed that she was the dragon!!!" Turel said.  
"Heal now, talk later," Raziel ordered, making the woman form of the dragon lay on the ground on her stomach. Turel ripped strips from his flag and used them as really bad bandages.  
"That should help till we can find someone who can do better," he said, brushing imaginary dirt from his hands. She was hardly conscious and wasn't about to complain when Turel picked her up in his arms.   
  
In the Sanctuary hall, where Kain was proceeding to the throne room, two figures on the ceiling crawled to the same room, only going at a much faster pace.   
"Hey, slow down or you're going to drop me!" Dumah whispered VERY quietly into Zephon's ear.   
"I am not!" he whispered back. They did reach the room before Kain and Zephon proceeded to climb down a column nearest the throne and let Dumah off. Dumah pulled the soul reaver out from its hilt and quickly jumped onto Zephon's back, who groaned a little and began to climb again.  
They had just reached the ceiling when Kain came in. And they exited right when Kain found the reaver missing and threw massive pieces of his magic around the room, screaming "I swear, I will KILL whoever stole the reaver, be it human, vampire, or demon!!!!!! I swear it, DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!"  
"That was way too close for me," Zephon said, wiping the sweat from brow from the stress.  
"Not to worry, brother!" Dumah said, slapping him on the back on a job well done. "We'll have this back in its place before he gets the chance to find out who did it!!" Come, we have to find the others," and they ran towards the territory of their brother Melchiah to get horses, while hearing Kain's screaming voice in the distance.  
  
The other vampires were traveling in the woods when their ears heard noises. They came down their mounts, Turel taking the dragon-woman with them at Raziel's suggestion, and followed the sound. It led them to the camp site of a small army of humans. Human hunters, that is.   
"This is great," Turel said. "This is just great. NOW what do we do?"  
"Hey, Raziel?" Rahab whispered.  
"Yes?"  
"Do you still have those clothes from when we went to the citadel?"  
"Yes, I believe so."  
"Put em on and go into the camp and ask for help."  
"Have you lost it?! I'm not going into a camp full of vampire hunters!!"  
"Scared?"  
"No!! It's dangerous in there!!"  
"Raziel, I'm surprised at you!!" Turel said. "Fine then, I'LL do it, hand 'em over." Gladly, he turned them over to Turel. Once he got them on and let his hair down out of ponytail so as to hide his ears, he said "Wish me luck," and started to run into the camp of hunters with the dragon woman in his arms, screaming "Help her, somebody!!"  
  
"Hey, is there anyone here who can help her?!?!" Yelled a voice from outside. Father Jothn and Commander Frougot opened the flap of their tent to see a tall man going from soldier to soldier asking for help with a beautiful woman in his arms.   
"What is this??" Frougot ordered to the soldiers. One of the jogged over while a few of the others took the two to a nearby tent.  
"This man has brought a woman into our camp, sir. He says that a creature attacked her that he says was indescribable. Her wounds could have been fatal if he hadn't found us." The Commander nodded to the soldier and gave the minister a smile.   
"Well, it looks it's nothing all too serious, just a vampire attack. She's lucky to be alive, I must say," he said with a bit of a chuckle.   
"This is no laughing matter, Commander Frougot. Are you sure it was a vampire attack?"   
"It appears so, but there was no wounds to the neck at all. I mean, what else could it have been, there aren't any wild animals living in these woods that could give almost fatal wounds except for a vampire. Is there?"   
"There are many things that we do not know about these woods. It's very possible," Father Jothn said, proceeding to go to the tent where the woman was. The Commander briskly followed behind him.  
The woman lay asleep on the cot and man who had brought her there sat next to her, his face away from the opening of the tent.   
"Greetings, stranger. I am Father Jothn and this is Commander Frougot. We would like to ask you some questions."  
  
Turel looked down upon the dragon woman. I wonder what her name is...? Just then, two humans came in, though he didn't turn around to see what they looked like.   
One of them said "Greetings, stranger. I am Father Jothn and this is Commander Frougot. We would like to ask you some questions." He began to panic a little, not knowing that would ask question about this. He couldn't tell the truth, that would give him away. So, he lied, and with it, did a most dramatic impression of "crying" and "worried." To start off, he sniffled a bit and nodded his head.  
"Good. Can you tell us what happened exactly?"  
With a trembling voice, he said "Yes, sir. My lady and I were talking a stroll in the woods, you see. We were only speaking of things that lovers do when the creature appeared. I tried to stop it from getting to her, but it was no use! That...that thing, tried to kill her!!" Then he started to cry with his face in his hands. He was actually laughing, but making it sound as though he was crying. One of the patted his shoulder.  
"It's all right, she'll be fine. Can you describe this creature to us?"  
He pretended to try to stop crying and start to sniff again. "Yes. It was the most hideous thing you've ever seen. Huge, drooling fangs, big claws, and it stood on two legs, but it was hunched over, and it was very hairy." He smell the small bit of fear in one of the humans, who had jumped a little during the description and looked around, thinking that he would see it.   
"Thank the Gods of Nosgoth that you both survived. How DID you manage to get away?"  
"It ran off."  
"I see. Could you give us your names?" That he hadn't thought of. The names that first came to mind he used.  
"I am Tyllain and my lady is Luvern."  
"Well, Tyllain, we shall leave you here for a little while in peace then. May the Gods of Nosgoth be with you," and the two left. Had he not been in the camp, he would have burst out loud laughing. He had to hide it very carefully so that the passing humans could not hear him, and did his best to make laughs sound like cries.  
  
After about half a day, the dragon woman woke up to see Turel sitting next to her. She frowned and asked where they were. So Turel told her the whole story and what their names were to be if they wanted to stay there and be safe. When night fell, Turel snuck out of the camp to find his brothers.   
They were, including Zephon and Dumah, who had just come back from the Sanctuary with the Soul Reaver with them ("Great dark Gods of Nosgoth, what were you thinking?! Kain will kill us if he finds out!!" Rahab had said. "No, he won't. Not if finds it in the citadel, thinking that the humans took it," Dumah had responded.). So when they asked what had happened in the camp, Turel told them the whole thing, emotions and all. At the end, they quietly gave him applause and asked for an encore. He also took a few bows. They went to a nearby village to feed, doing whatever possible not to cause a ruckus, and then Turel returned to the camp, unnoticed.   
The next morning, the dragon woman stood up, though still injured and a little weak, and told him that since dragons could heal themselves much faster than humans, that she was strong enough to help herself now.   
"You can't be serious!? She couldn't be strong enough to leave, let alone stand up!!" Said the priest.   
"But she is!! We are ready to return to our home in the village not far from here!!" Turel argued. He would make sure that this was one argument that he won. "We shall be fine, it is not even a day's journey from here!! Besides, both our families are worried about us, having not returned home yet."  
"Then you can go and tell them that you are both safe and sound with this strong army of vampire hunters," said the priest, placing a hand on Turel's shoulder. He looked at with disgust, but then smiled a weak smile. "Do not be in such a hurry, she will be safe with us." Yeah right, he thought.  
'Yeah right' what? The dragon spoke into his mind.   
Oh great, so you can read minds too?  
Yes, Tyllain, she said sarcastically.  
"Really, we should be going. She'll be fine, I can promise you that. She's...always healed fast. Not that she battles or anything of the like!!" He said quickly. The priest looked a bit suspicious. He nodded and allowed him to go with the woman back to their village.   
  
When Tyllain had left the priest to fetch his lady, the priest told the Commander to come out.  
"Have a man or two follow them. There's something I don't like about this man." The Commander nodded and sent for three of his hunters to follow the man and woman, but not be seen by them.  
  
Turel helped the dragon woman up from the cot and placed her arm around his neck for support as she walked, even though she argued that she needed no help. They left the camp and headed towards where his brothers were, unknowing that three vampire hunters were following right behind him.  
  
Wooooowwwwwww, long chapter!! ^_^ *looks to her right to see Kain being chased by angry dragon fangirls and boys, with Kain yelling for help* Ahhh he deserved it. *waves around a key that opened the lock to a fence where the fangirls and boys were kept at bay.* Hehe, I just couldn't help myself!! 


	7. The Murderer is Revealed

Oh boy, another chapter of Towards the Sky. I am so excited, aren't you?  
  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
"Hey, it's about time!!" Raziel exclaimed. "Now what are we gonna do? Kain knows we helped the dragon escape." Everyone pondered on that for a moment or two when the silent moment was gone as a voice interrupted.  
"Put yer hands up, vampires!! We've got ye this time!!" Came the voice of a hunter. They looked to see two more behind the first, raising their weapons to impale them. "Hehe, we'll get a great reward from the priest when he sees that we've killed all six of Kain's dead lieutenants!!" But then a rumbling sound came as the dragon woman, in what appeared to be rage, transformed before the hunter's eyes and when her neck extended full height, she was as tall as the nearest tree branch. She closed in on the frightened hunters, who could only stand in place. She spit fire at the one farthest away from the others and he immediately died with the fast impact. In that moment, the other two ran away, screaming "Dragon!!! Dragon!!!!" Then the dragon changed herself back into the of the woman. The lieutenants were in awe.  
"There's no time to idling around here like a bunch of idiots," Dumah said, retrieving the minds of his brothers. "We have to get out of here!!!"  
That will not be a problem, is it not so? They hadn't seen her transform back into the dragon, twice as big as the first time. Four of you climb onto my back and I'll carry the rest. Dumah, Raziel, Zephon, and Turel, being able to hold on longer, climbed hastefully onto her back while she gripped the other two with her two front paws. She spread her wings and pushed of the ground, soaring into the air.  
It was unlike anything any of them had ever felt. Though invigorating, it was also dizzying, and the majority of them felt a little faint from the air altitude. They flew away in the direction of Dumah's clan, where the dragon instinctively knew she'd be able to hide well.  
  
"THE DRAGON IS IN THE WOODS?!?!?!?" The priest and commander yelled, both at the top of their lungs. The hunters nodded, out of breath. "This is worse than I thought!!" The priest said.  
"That's...not...all..." the second one said. "That...woman...from the camp was...the dragon..."   
"You must be mad!! Dragons can't turn into humans...can they?" The commander asked.  
"Dragons have the ability to transform the way others see them." (A.N. Stupid, idiotic, dumbbell of a human good-for-nothing priest!![I'd cuss, but I don't really feel like it, someone can do it for me in a review if they like.] THEY CAN TOO, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, READERS!!!) he said, as-a-matter-of-factly. "It's natural for them to lie." (A.N. Sorry to interrupt again, but NO IT ISN'T, DUMBASS!![Yes, I cussed, holy crap.])   
"Oh, I see," the man responded. "Well, what should we do?"  
"Tell them that we are moving the camp into the woods. Do not cut down any trees as it will give our location away. Once we find that witch and bring her back to the citadel, we will turn our concerns on slaying that dragon."  
"Yes sir!!" And the commander left the priest in his tent. He rubbed his eyes.  
"That is of course saying that they CAN slay it." Then he started to rub his neck. "How can my fellow friends stand to be in this form?? It itches like poison ivy from hell and my eyes are beginning to shrink, stupid humans. Why did they have to be so small??" And he left the tent through the back, and snuck off into the woods.  
  
Finally, the dragon landed in Dumah's territory where a few of them jumped onto the ground and kissed it.  
"I thank you for your kind concern, lady dragon," Dumah said with a deep bow as she transformed back in the woman. "My brothers and myself will stay here till this blows over. Where will you go?"  
There is no safe place for me, here or anywhere, until that murderer is destroyed, she said in their minds as the few brothers got up on their feet from the ground.   
"Then you won't object to staying here until that day?" He asked. She looked a bit startled, but then smiled.  
"I do not."   
"Then it is settled. You'll stay here with us until this murderer is dead." Then the dragon-woman fell to the ground with a snarling man pinning her to the snowy ground.  
"There you are, dragon!! I shall cut thee from limb to limb, and take from thee thy life!!" He said, lifting his hand, which was turning into a claw, above her to strike. Dumah and Raziel grabbed the man from behind and Dumah put him in a hold.   
"It's that priest from the camp!!" Turel said, pointing at his face.   
He raised his head, and in a demon voice he bellowed "Release me, vampires!! Our father needs the corpse of the last dragon in order to complete His triumphant plan!! You would do well to not disobey Him!!"  
"Disobey, my foot!!" Zephon said, kicking the demon's leg. The dragon woman barely missed Dumah's neck as she swung her scythe at the demon-possessed man, decapitating him.  
"You really ARE a good warrior!" Dumah said, rubbing the front of his neck.  
"Where's the nearest fire? You must burn him or he'll return," she said, not taking her eyes off of the corpse.   
"Right," Dumah said, putting the limp body over his shoulder, head in hand, and walking off to a blaze that was around the corner.   
"He may have been the murderer, but I cannot be sure whether he was the only one or not," she said curiously.  
"Not to worry, we'll be at your side to fend them off," Melchiah said, reassuringly.  
"I thank ye for thy kind consideration, vampire," she smiled at him. "Come, we must prepare ourselves for what may or may not come forth." The dragon started to walk into a nearby two-story house when Raziel stopped her.  
"May we call you by some name other than Dragon? Unless of course you would prefer it."  
She gave no emotion with her voice "The dragons call each other by the magic of their selves. But humans seem to classify me as Jorthinilikia."  
"Then may we call you Jorthina, for short?" She turn her back on him.  
"If you so desire to, fine."  
  
Oh boy, now we know what to call the dragon!! The priest was the demon-murderer, who would have guessed?? And what does his 'father' want with the corpse of our dear Jorthina? Find out the answers to only some of these question in the next chapter!! 


	8. Deals of the Demon Kind

Yummy, lots of chapters from me today, huh?! Whoo hoo!!  
  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
Kain sat, mumbling on his throne, contemplating about how he would torture the ones who stole his sword, how much pain he would give them for stealing it. Suddenly, the beast that had attacked the dragon appeared above him and said "You are the vampire lord Kain, yes?" Kain looked up, but the creature was gone. "No bother to me look, me you'll never find," it said.  
"I am the lord of the vampires of which you speak. What do you want, foul demon?"  
"Deal with you, I do. For thy sword it is."  
"A deal? What kind of deal?"  
The demon landed on the floor in front of him. It was hideous to look at with it's grinning and sickening face. "In exchange for your sword, you will help to find the last dragon of pure white."   
Kain leapt at him, thinking that he had the sword with him. "And if I do not?"  
"If you do not, it will go about that you will find it, but this way is much sooner. It would please you, yes?"  
Kain would have loved to torture the fool who had stole the reaver, but it was more important to get it back. "I agree. Now hand it over."  
"Have it yet not. I must go to retrieve for thee. Wait here you must," said the demon as it vanished from sight.   
"Odd little devil, but it doesn't matter so long as I get the reaver back into my possession" he said, easing himself back into his chair. And as he waited, he slept.  
  
"Well, I don't know, I've run out of ideas!!" Rahab said, his brain exhausted. They sat around a table, discussing their next move. Jorthina was on the roof, watching for any movements. A dragon's eyesight in the dark is practically better than that of a vampire, she had said.  
"I think our first concern is to find out why he, whoever this he is, wants Jorthina dead." Turel argued.   
"And I saw we fight first, ask questions later!" Dumah argued. Typical, Raziel thought. Unknown the other vampires, Jorthina was keeping in on the conversation by conversing with Raziel.  
One who wishes to battle first is in danger of not knowing what to do when the enemy strikes a strategic move. One who thinks carefully about his plan first is in danger of the enemy sticking a dagger into his heart in the light of day. Either way, both sides are rigged, and the two must work together in order for them to succeed, she said.  
It isn't always that easy with my brothers, he thought.  
Do not blame them for their differences, vampire. It is the way of things.  
Suddenly, the door burst open and there stood a demon. What is hell is going on?!?! Raziel thought.  
What is wrong?  
Stay up there, you'll be safer there.  
"Brrrrrrrr! Cold it is out in there!! How you live here with no complaint is a mystery to me," the demon said, shivering. It was the gruesome little demon.  
"What do you want, demon?! Come to slay Jorthina?!" Dumah yelled at him.   
The demon tried to smile innocently, which was a very hard thing for a demon like himself. "I mean no harm to Jorthina, whatever human woman that may be. I come to strike with you all a deal."  
"A deal? Like what?" Raziel asked.  
"Simple it is. Give to me the blade of the lord of vampires, and I tell not who takes it," he said as he eyed Dumah and Zephon. "He would torture the soul who did so to hell, he says."  
"Why wouldst you want to return him the blade? There must be something in it for you," said Jorthina, coming down the stairs in her human form at a walking pace.  
"No, Jorthina, get back up there!!" Raziel said, making a move to hide her. But she raised her hand to stop him.  
"Oooooo, this is the Jorthina you spoke of?! A pretty one she is, she is!!" The demon said hopping a little.  
"What game are you playing, little demon?" She asked.  
"No games, mistress. No tricks, mistress. I do it for the good souls of your two friends here, who only meant to do good," he said, trying to smile sweetly.  
Jorthina smiled sweetly back and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Sure. And I'm not the dragon!!" And with those last words, she tried to split the demon in half with her scythe, but he nimbly jumped away, and landed right next to the reaver, which was leaning against the wall. Dumah tried to grab it before the imp, but he merely landed with a thud and a grunt on the floor as the demon jumped to the ceiling.  
"Oh ho!! A pretty but deadly one I see, I see!! That you are, snow dragon!! Were you not the dragon, my father would be pleased to see you!!! I would take the liberty of getting you for my master at this very moment, but my plans would then be ruined!! Toodles!!" And he vanished in a puff of smoke.  
"Damn it, Jorthina, why did you go and tell him you were the dragon?!?" Dumah yelled at her.  
She stared off into space as the sheathed her weapon and it disappeared. "It wouldn't matter, vampire. They would have found me out sooner than I had told him, if they so wished, and I would be dead this very moment. They are planning something, and I don't like the smell of it. I believe we have great need to see Kain," she said as he began to walk out of the building into the night, and towards the Sanctuary of the Clans. "You don't have to join me, if you desire. It is a personal matter, and I shant drag you into it against thy wills." By then they could see her as a snowstorm kicked up very suddenly. Raziel was the first to run into the black night and follow her. The others, one by one, joined him.  
  
Oh wow! What could this little devil be planning??!?! 


	9. The Attack

Sorry about not having an update yesterday, I just HAD to take a day off and play Soul Reaver 2 for the entire day. Anywho, what IS this demon planning? Yes, I know he talks weird, but I think it makes the story a bit more interesting.  
  
Towards the Sky  
By Ryoken  
  
"Can't you do something about this storm, Jorthina? I mean, can't you use magic or something?!!" Melchiah yelled, trying to heard as he blocked the snow blowing into his eyes.  
Of course, and instantly, the storm stopped, but the clouds still were there. They continued to follow Jorthina, who looked absolutely calm, with awe-stricken faces.  
"How did you..." he asked.  
I created it, for protection against that demon, and any other demons that may be watching us, she replied. And they continued on with no further complaints.  
  
"Wake up, sleepy Kain!! Returned I have," said the demon playfully. Kain woke with a start.  
"DON'T DO THAT!!!!!" He yelled. But he quickly forgot his anger when he saw the reaver being held by the slimy devil. "Well done, demon!!! Now if you'll just return that to me..." he said, reaching out for it. The demon jumped back, shaking his head.  
"No, no, no, first you must promise to me that you will help kill the dragon of white. I can feel that she is headed here."  
"Fine, I promise I'll help to slay the dragon, now give that to me!!" And the demon let go as soon as Kain touched it. He fell to the floor with a grunt, and for a moment, he just lay there, unmoving. Then he got up, his eyes a blood red. He grinned evilly. "What a fool," he said stretching his claws. "At least this form is much more comfortable than that of that stupid holy man. I don't know how I could stand living in that place." He raised the soul reaver to his face to examine it. "A fine weapon indeed. I'm surprised that a vampire would be so protective of it though. I suppose he didn't wish for it to get into the wrong hands..." he said, laughing manically with the demon at his feet.  
  
The doors of the Sanctuary opened to reveal six vampires and a dragon of white, that stood at about their size. They entered within, the guards saluting and bowing to the lieutenants, looking warily at the dragon who had a chain around its neck and was being taken along like a dog on a leash. Jorthina and disagreed again and again that she would not lower her humility to that of being a pet and a prisoner. In fact, they to, as though arguing with a dragon wasn't scary enough, force the chain around her. She grumbled the rest of the way there, and was still now grumbling in their heads. But it was all in a dragon's tongue, so they hadn't the slightest idea what she said.   
They entered the throne room of their master and maker and surprisingly, found him sitting on his throne, his chin resting on one fist, as if he knew they were coming.   
"So...my wayward children return..." he said softly, still grinning. He didn't move. His eyes went from the vampires to the dragon. "So, you have brought the beast in, have you?" His grin grew even wider. The dragon wasn't even looking at Kain. In fact, her expression looked like she was humiliated, but in a stubborn and stuck-up sort of way.   
"Yes, Kain. We wished to actually have a word with you concerning the reaver," Raziel said.  
"What about the reaver?" Kain stood up, the reaver in his hand, but not in a threatening position. he started to slowly approach Jorthina. Finally, she looked at him, and was immediately rearing around, dragging Dumah and Turel along with her as they could not compare their strength to hers. The chain broke that was so loosely put around her neck and she flew up high into the room, trying to be ready to attack at any moment.   
What are you doing, Jorthina?!?! That was way too soon!!! Raziel thought.  
Get away from him, now, all of you!!!! she spoke, growling at Kain, who merely looked up at her with a smile.  
"Now, now, dragon. There's no real need to be all riled up. All we want," he said as demons from every corner of the room appeared. The demon from earlier, although it was difficult to tell it was him as most of the demon were al hideous, popped up from behind the throne.   
"Is your heart," he said. The demon all jumped onto Jorthina, tearing, ripping, and shredding her beautiful wings with their greasy claws. She threw her back onto the top of the ceiling. Some of the demons were squashed and impaled, others had gotten out of the way and fearfully hung on for their wretched lives, with rubble adding to the mix. She landed hard on the floor, and then started to roll around, trying squash all of demons that were on her back. It was a very odd spectacle.   
Kain walked up to the lieutenants, not even looking at them as he watched the fight. "A beautiful creature. Its a shame that we have to kill it," then he laughed. It wasn't that of their father's. It was twisted and evil, more evil than Kain.   
On a sudden rage, Turel lunged at Kain, who promptly dodged the attempt and laughed again. Finally, he turned his head from the spectacle to look at Turel. "What a fool. Kain is a fool as well, you know. Too worried about his damned sword to care about the life of a dragon such as this, as old as this. You undead worry so much that it bothers me. The undead are not supposed to have such feelings of worry." Jorthina was still writhing in agony as more demons just kept coming and clawing her. They wanted to do something, but they felt like lead. "I suppose I can see why you would worry about such a pretty beast, but it doesn't matter any longer. Hold her down!!" He yelled as he began to walk towards the white creature, now almost turned a very deep red with her own blood. She began spitting fire at the demons nearest her muzzle, burning some to a crisp, and catching still others on fire (mmm, fried demon. jk!). Kain walked up to Jorthina, away from her mouth. "Ready to die, dragon?" he said, lifting the blade to cut off her head.  
Sorry, but I think I'm going to live a lot more years than you'd like!! She said and opened her mouth at Kain to spit fire. But instead, out came snow and ice. It filled the room like the blizzard and since Kain was taking the brunt of it, he slowly froze. Now free from feeling like lead, the lieutenants charged at the remaining demons, fighting them unlike they had during the human wars. Raziel eyed Kain, who still held the reaver above him and approached him. He poked the reaver once and felt as though he was punched as he stumbled back. Then he looked for the demon.  
Raziel spotted the rascal sitting in Kain's throne, his legs swinging to and fro. Then the demon saw Raziel running to him. He tried to jump up to the Pillars and climb them, but Raziel, who could jump higher than he, caught him in mid-air. "What have you done to the Soul Reaver, snake?!"  
"Nothing done have I, I swear it on my honor as a demon, that I do!!" He said meekly.  
"That is nothing but a lie. Demons don't have honor. Now tell me what you've done to it, or I'll-"  
"Ok, ok, do not hurt me!! I enchanted it as a home for my maker. Not the devil himself, but someone still powerful. His other home was a priest of the citadel, but it was taken away by fire and the cutting of his head. I am merely his slave, and cannot act against him!!" He said.  
"Then unenchant the blade so that I can wield it!!"  
"Only my master can do that!! And as you can see, he is frozen and inside your maker, Kain."  
"You will do as I say, demon. I command it," Raziel ordered, his eyes narrowing.  
"Ohhhhhhhhh, punished will I be for this, I will," the demon said as Raziel let go of the demon and followed right behind him so that he wouldn't make any moves of escape. When they approached Kain, the little demon seemed to shiver a lot as he waved his hands a little bit and turned back to Raziel. "I have done what you have asked." Raziel picked up the demon and made him touch the blade first. The demon had lied as the blade would not let go of him, or he would not let go of it, blue lightening electrocuting the demon. After a moment, the lightning vanished and the sword broke the ice, freeing Kain who fell to the ground. The wretched thing on the ground screamed in pain as it grew uglier by the second. Then, as with the other demons, it vanished into a puff of smoke.  
Raziel tried to wake up Kain, and soon he came around.  
"What happened? And how in the world did I get the biggest headache known to any creature??" He said, rubbing the back of his head. Raziel didn't answer as he got up to go to the dying Jorthina.   
"Is there anything that can be done?" Raziel asked. Dumah shook his head.  
"No, not unless you know someone that could heal a creature this big with magic that's around here," he answered. Jorthina moaned aloud as that of a dragon would do.  
"I'm surprised at you all," Kain said as they whirled around to face him. "Stand aside." He had the reaver in his hand. But Raziel, along with the others, blocked him from reaching her.  
"No, Kain. We won't let you so grotesquely end her life!!" Turel said defiantly. They all agreed.  
"Oh please. If you love this dragon so much then why don't you just marry her!!!" Kain yelled as he pushed the Turel out of his way. They grabbed their father and tried to pull him away from her. But then Jorthina spoke out to them.  
No...let him pass...   
They let him go and proceeded to Jorthina, reaver in hand.  
  
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! He's gonna kill her, isn't he? Maybe, you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out!!! 


	10. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Ok, I'm trying a format to post this story so that perhaps it will look a lot better when it gets posted and more of you will understand it. I just hope it works. Sorry about the no update on the story, I had to a little break for a while, so to quote myself : "If you make yourself write when you don't feel like it, you will write crappy stuff."  
  
Towards the Sky  
  
By Ryoken  
  
Jorthina winced in pain as Kain advanced towards her. The lieutenants weren't about to see their wonderful friend be slaughtered before their eyes, and so in turn, they looked away from her. Kain held the reaver above his head, getting ready to plunge it into the dragon, and he did. The twisting blade went into the heart of the dragon and the dragon screamed out in terrible pain, so loud that they all had to cover their ears. The earth shook as Jorthina's head collapsed on the ground with a thud.  
  
Instead of pulling the Soul Reaver out, Kain pushed it even deeper into the dragon. It was a miracle that the dragon's blood didn't touch the vampire lord's skin, which would have burst him into flames. Then, he seemed to turn the blade as it was still inside of the dragon's body, but no sound came from Jorthina. Then, he wrenched the blade out, which was now covered in the blood, but it merely devoured it, and a small blue light shone from the tip of the blade. Jorthina seemed to open her eyes once again, but there was no pain in the two silvery jeweled eyes. Amazingly, the white dragon stood up with no trouble.  
  
The lieutenants still had their backs turned to the scene while all of this happened. But Raziel suddenly felt a light push on his back, like a muzzle. He turned to exclaim "Jorthina?!?!", which caused the attention of his brothers. Kain stood back, out of the way, looking at the reaver with little amazement. "How did you do that?" Raziel asked when they had piped down.  
  
"I did nothing. The reaver did," he said, holding it up to his face level. Kain looked over to Jorthina, but she was gone. He didn't look too surprised at this, unlike his sons. "Looks like your friend has gone back whence she came," he announced, placing the blade back in its sheath on the throne.  
  
Emotions are not a thing of dragons, vampires. I was not about to be caught in some fray of happiness that humans and yourselves call "happiness," the dragon spoke out in the empty room. We are magic in itself. Magic does not have emotion, and therefore, dragons have none. Without magic, what would we be then? she explained. Then the voice was gone.  
  
The vampires, except for Kain, rushed outside. In the not-too-far-off distance, they saw the back of Jorthina in her human disguise, walking away from them. She disappeared when she entered the shadows, but then they saw her, for the last time, as the white dragon. She spread out her wings and gracefully leapt into the air, towards the sky...  
  
Meanwhile, back in the citadel, the human army thought they had found the witch that had put the search party to sleep. She certainly looked the type who would be one, but in fact, she was just a nagging old hag who lived alone in the woods. She couldn't cast a spell if her life depended on it. Which in this case, it did.  
  
"Gawh, blast it, you old bitch!! I will ask you one more time: AWAKEN THEM RIGHT NOW!!!!!" The commander screamed. The old woman cringed and waved her arms around some more, not having the slightest clue as to what she was doing. Suddenly, the men started to open their eyes and they woke up.  
  
"Well now, perhaps I do have a bit of magic in me!!" The old woman cackled to herself. While the men's families were hugging and welcoming their dads and husbands back, Bartholomew caught a glimpse of a giant silver eye peeking through a small window.  
  
"Father, look!! There's an eye staring at us!!" he said as he pointed at the window. THe commander looked and saw what his son saw.  
  
"Oh my god," he whispered. "It's the dragon." Sure enough, the dragon's eye grew smaller as it backed away from the window and flew off into the setting sun.  
  
Ok, that's it!! End of story!! Sad that it's short ending?? Bah, just be glad the dragon lived!! ; ) 


End file.
